GAA All-star players and the GPA set for gala New York dinner

The Gaelic Players Association (GPA) will host its annual New York dinner gala on Thursday, November 14 at the New York Athletic Club. Irish Voice founding publisher Niall O’Dowd will receive the GPA’s Ireland-U.S. Gaelic Heritage Award while Ciaran Murray, CEO of ICON, one of Ireland’s most successful indigenous companies, will receive the Spirit of Ireland Award.

The event will be attended by the 2013 all-star Players of the Year Michael Darragh MacAuley (football) and Clare hurler Tony Kelly along with the famous Sam Maguire and Liam MacCarthy trophies. A group of former all-star legends including Dublin’s Tony Hanahoe, Brian Mullins and Mick Galvin along with Cork hurling legend Donal O’Grady will also attend the function, which will celebrate the contribution Gaelic players make to the cultural and social fabric of Ireland. GPA scholars Rob Hennelly (Mayo) and Paul Flynn (Dublin) will also be present.

The Ireland-U.S. Gaelic Heritage Awards and the dinner gala are designed to celebrate and acknowledge the deep historical and cultural ties between the two countries, recognizing a shared ancestry of which Ireland’s unique Gaelic sporting heritage is an intrinsic part.

GPA chief executive Dessie Farrell said, “The GPA is promoting its work and Gaelic games in the U.S. for the past number of years, and this event is a hugely important occasion for our organization. Following the success of our inaugural gala last year where we honored corporate champion of Ireland Don Keough, this year we are privileged to celebrate the exceptional achievements of Niall O’Dowd and Ciaran Murray, both wonderful supporters of the GPA and Gaelic games.

“The aim of our dinner gala and fundraising efforts in the U.S. is both to strengthen our ability to support our players in critical areas of their lives and to bolster the GPA’s ambition to make a meaningful difference in Irish society,” added Farrell.